Ambassador Crocker had just arrived and sat down in his office chair. He'd been woken up last night by some kind of light show that actually warmed his face momentarily from the nearby window. Though, by the time he tried to get a good look at it, the event had ended.
He sips his coffee while turning on his terminal, wondering what curveballs would be thrown at him today... Somehow, he'd had a really bad feeling since he stepped into the embassy.
...
*Bzztch!*
The sound of the nearby military radio attracts his attention, as he raises it to his ear, wondering what the issue was that forced them to talk to him directly through this channel.
"Crocker here, what is it?... Mmhm? Yeah, I saw it... No, so why don't you just tell me." he states as he sips his coffee... Before suddenly decorating his desk and terminal with it as he spits out the entirety of it. "THEY DID WHAAAAT!?..." he screams in shock, but glances up and spots his surprised-looking receptionist giving a small wave indicating he has a visitor.
In response, he angrily waves her away while shaking his head, turning his full attention back onto the radio, "They did what?" he repeats, not believing what he'd just been told.
"They annihilated Camp Forlorn Hope... And when I say annihilated, I mean, ANNIHILATED." the soldier announces, not holding anything back. "It must be retaliation for the assassination of Daisy Whitman! It's too coincidental to be anything else! We have to mobilise our forces and teach those fuckers not to mess with-"
"Will you shut your damn foolish mouth, Soldier!?" Crocker abruptly interrupts the man, not wanting to hear any more 'insightful' dogshit come from their mouth, "You literally just explained to me that Bulwark instantly annihilated Camp Forlorn Hope, one of our biggest encampments, without leaving any traces or survivors... And yet, somehow you are confident enough that you could take them on? DO YOU NOT REALISE HOW DAMNED STUPID YOU SOUND, SOLDIER!?" he roars down the radio.
...
Crocker rubs his brows with a sigh, "What has General Oliver decided to do?"
...
"Soldier?" he repeats, wondering if the connection was shot.
"Oh, well... Ambassador... General Oliver has not said anything, once he got word of what happened to our encampment he said he needed to speak with someone and left... We haven't seen him since..."
...
"Do you think he'll be coming back anytime soon? Despite how I feel about it, he is still in charge of our operations in the Mojave... And don't try play me with the 'he went out for a cigarette' trick, I seen it before and I ain't fallen for it!"
"We'll inform you if he returns, Ambassador... We still need to decide what to do though, right now everyone's just running around like headless chickens, wondering if their base would be the next hit."
Crocker rests his elbows on the table and links his fingers in a contemplative stance... He could just leave the decision making to someone else, but he was sure they'd just fuck up the situation even more than it already was... He didn't know who planned the assassination, but whoever it was should be court-martialed.
He was well aware that Bulwark wasn't something they could deal with right now, the Legion was preparing for their biggest attack yet, and the NCR didn't even know where Bulwark's main base was located.
And now these idiots were thinking of trying another attack? Isn't it obvious Camp Forlorn Hope was a warning? Why else destroy a camp so close to Novac almost immediately after the attack? He wondered if the only reason the NCR was even still in the Mojave was because Afton Parker allowed them to be...
There wasn't anything they could do either, judging by the sort of weapon that was used, it could probably strike anywhere, at any time, without much delay... All with destruction comparable to a nuclear bomb.
General Oliver's absence wasn't even the worst part... No, that belonged to the fact he had to address what happened at some point to the public! How much panic would he cause if he walked out and straight said "Er, yeah, Camp Forlorn Hope was annihilated in an instant. We have no evidence of who did it, no survivors to corroborate the attack, and only circumstantial evidence that certainly wouldn't hold up in any court, kangaroo or not!"
Yeah, fat chance of that happening... He'd probably get blamed for it, lose his career, and subsequently thrown back to California with a huge fine and dishonour printed onto his back.
He could try and lie about it... But the public would find out eventually, and then what? The public's response would be way, way worse. The facts would remain the same, just with the added charge of willfully lying to their collective faces.
Crocker wanted to do good for the NCR... But there was no feasible way to win in this situation... Thus, he was forced to play his trump card.
"Sorry soldier, as much as I'd like to help, I'm on vacation." he states, not managing to hide the grimace as he says this.
"What!? Since when!?" the soldier demands, knowing exactly was Crocker was doing.
Crocker stands up and shuts off his terminal, "Since two days ago. Goodbye, soldier." "Oh you motherfuck-*Bzztch!*" he turns the radio off, taking his coffee and quickly leaving the building and heading directly into the Ultra-Luxe casino... Hopefully, after a week or two at most, things would blow over and be fine...
Elsewhere, the soldier radio's yet another General who quickly goes on 'vacation' as soon as he hears what'd occurred... Leaving only a few Colonels like Cassandra Moore to deal with this shit show. Even then, those who could choose not to involve themselves and instead focus on the more pressing issue of the rather massive Legion invasion that would be happening soon, judging by how many troops had already massed.
Hope you bois liked the chap, if I missed anything please let me know. Thanks!
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The NCR wasn't the only faction buzzing about last nights recent events, even Mr House had quickly jockeyed on their airwaves. Of course, his own personal sensors had picked up the massive disturbance caused by both the impact sight of Camp Forlorn Hope, but also from Helios One.
The last time this had happened he'd chalked it up to a coincidence, but now it was confirmed that Helios One was connected to Bulwark's orbital weapon in some way.... Not that he was worried that it'd be used against him, he trusted Afton, Bulwark, and their ability to keep such technology out of unworthy hands
Obviously, he'd need to find out why such an attack was required, but he was sure there'd be a 'relatively' reasonable explanation for it... If there is such a thing for basically dropping a nuke on thousands of people.
Honestly, he was basically ready to try and claim the Mojave as his own, all that was required now was for the NCR and Legion to start fighting... And for one last boost of power to send his initial detachment of Securitrons into the Dam to power the rest.
Most of his army was still connected to Hoover Dam, and required a large surge of energy to make them all operable. So he'd need to get Tamia, and maybe some other Bulwark insurgents if they were willing, to infiltrate Hoover Dam during the battle and gain access to the mainframe.
He already had a preprepared virus that would take control of the entire facility once introduced. So, all he needed to do now was wait for his 'partner' to return, and wait for the War for the Mojave to begin.
Elsewhere :
Afton stretches himself out as he walks out of the Think Tank, languidly ignoring the various 'snap, crackle, and pops' his bones make as he does so. He strolls in the vague direction of the firing range while giving a long yawn, thinking that he probably shouldn't have slept in so long...
He could hear gunfire in the distance, so hopefully he'd find something interesting to take his mind off of, you know, the thousands of deaths he'd caused at Camp Forlorn Hope. Fortunately, he was quickly distracted by the sight once he reaches his destination...
A familiar face was currently firing a large number of weapons from the wide selection placed before him... Karl seemed to be getting very familiar with his new limbs, and judging by the accuracy on the targets, he hadn't gotten rusty either.
"Yo, Karl! I thought you were going to be taking it easy for a bit longer!?" he calls out, ignoring all the safety precautions and simply strolling straight into the firing range...
Karl unloads the rest of his ammunition from the Marksman rifle he was using before setting it down and turning around, grinning slightly as he clasps Afton's arm, "I intended to... But since you want to start blowin' shit up, seems like I gotta pick up some slack." he drawls.
Afton shrugs, "They asked for it, doming Daisy like that... Her funeral should be starting some time tomorrow if you're interested. You weren't as close with her as Boone or I were."
Karl nods, "Course I'll go, bring my kid and my kid's kid 'swell, give 'em some proper perspective on how bad things can get if we let em." he says with crossed arms.
Afton crooks a brow at him, "After all they've been through, you sure they don't already know that?"
Karl chuckles but shakes his head, "I know, but they're getting too comfortable here. Caroline might never forget what happened, but Carlos wasn't even aware of what was goin' on. Easier to keep 'em straight than to try and pick up the pieces, if you know what I'm gettin' at."
"I suppose... Wonder if this'll be the same if I ever have kids. Honestly, I've faced down Deathclaws, Supermutants, Zombie-plants, Nukes, Armies, and more, yet fatherhood is what scars me the most..." Afton sheepishly admits while scratching the back of his head.
Karl just shakes his head and gives Afton a firm 'closed-fist pat' with his Cybernetic arm. "Right, enough of this borin' talk. You wanna help me test out this new arm? Personally can't make heads or tails myself."
"Shouldn't Glados or Dala have explained it to you?" Afton asks with exasperation.
Karl shrugs, "Naw, I just walked out as they were talkin'... I mean, if they work they work... Didn't think I'd need a damn instruction manual."
Afton palms his face but turns around regardless, slowly headed towards a lower area of the firing range that held a melee practice area. Karl follows without a word and the two end up in a large underground octagon with a slightly padded floor. It wouldn't do much to stop anything serious, but it might make slamming your skull against the floor less deadly.
"Alright, let's see about your arm." Afton mutters while looking Karl's left arm over, quickly finding a small hidden button on the inside of the forearm, a hard place to knock or hit the b button accidentally.
*Shiik!*
As soon as the button is pressed a panel opens up in Karl's arm as his hand and fingers fold back. After that's done, a medium-sized Saturnite blade flicks out and locks in place, ready for combat... Obviously, like most Saturnite blades Afton and his forces have in use, it'd as close to monomolecular as you can get.
Such a blade was fantastic at cutting, but still wasn't a match for Afton's Ultra Chainsword... His Perks just made it too powerful to change up, but for others it was more based on preference. Still, judging by the way Karl was standing, he had no idea on how to actually use that thing, his stance looking something like how you were supposed to hold a knife, as opposed to a 'sword' which would be a more apt description of the blade.
Hope you bois liked the chap, if I missed anything please let me know. Thanks!
If you like my content or want to read ahead please go to : https://www.p.atreon.com/Nagross, I'd appreciate it.
Also, thanks to my patrons for their support :
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Justin David
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